With the advent of democracy in 1994, new provinces were established and all schools were controlled by the provincial governments under one system of education (Diko et
al, 2011). The provinces were tasked with the responsibility of managing primary and
secondary education, including government schools, Further Education and Training colleges and Adult basic education and the oversight of the independent schools followed (Ibid, 2010). In 1996 the new constitution of the Republic of South Africa set the pace for the new dispensation that was totally against discrimination of any person on the grounds of his/her race, gender, age, disability, religion or language (Schoeman, 2004). The provincial districts were amalgamated and redemarcated to allow a system of education that was more inclusive than exclusive (Ibid, 2004). In the new dispensation, the DoE district offices were tasked to support schools with the aim of improving the quality of teaching and learning (Mohlala, 2007) “The decision to establish the present districts was also based on the need to take education closer to schools and communities” (DoE, 2009). However, it seems there are different ways in which different provinces operate their district offices.
The concept district office is still very slippery in the SA education system. This means that education district office means different things to different provinces. In some provinces, education district office means the management of schools and ensuring the implementation of policies in schools. In others, district office means professional
39 support given to schools and still others view district offices as resource centres for schools. There are those who view district offices as a combination of all or some of the above functions. Other studies suggest that district offices are merely mediators between the schools and PED (Elmore, 1993 and O’Day and Smith, 1993). This confusion about the role of education districts in the SA education system is what Narsee (2006) terms ‘the common and contested meaning of education districts in South Africa’. Narsee (2006: 6) further contends that,
The current South African discourse on education districts oscillates confusingly between districts as support centres for schools, and districts as administrative and management arms of provincial departments of education. The primary purpose of districts, therefore, remains contentious: do districts exist primarily as base for professional services to schools, or are they established to ensure policy and administrative control?
It is for this reason that this study investigates how district offices support teaching and learning in schools in the Eastern Cape. Since this study locates the meaning given to district offices by Eastern Cape PED, it is not possible to give a fair location and definition of the role of the district offices in the Eastern Cape without discussing first the meaning given to education district offices by other provinces. This study takes two provinces in SA to sample how different provinces approach the rendering of education services at district level.
In the Western Cape for instance, the education district offices are mandated to manage education at local level. Policy and planning are handled by the provincial DoE. (WC DoE, 2009). District directors are responsible for ensuring quality of education and of educational institutions within a district. There are 49 circuit team managers who assist district directors in enabling schools to provide quality education (Diko et al, 2011). The operations in the district office are such that assessment coordinators report to curriculum heads who are members of district management teams. The provincial assessment director liaises directly with the eight assessment coordinators who are based at district offices and responsible for managing the implementation of
40 assessment policies at district level. The assessment director, other assessment officials based at the head office and the eight district coordinators form the provincial assessment committee. Districts also have similar committees, which include the district assessment coordinator as well as the General Education and Training (GET) and Further Education and Training (FET) coordinators. District assessment coordinators do not work directly with curriculum advisors, who are also qualified assessors. They work closely with phase coordinators who are responsible for supervising curriculum advisors. Curriculum advisors account to their phase coordinators for curriculum delivery and for assessment related matters. District assessment committees manage the implementation of assessment in the district (Ibid, 2011).
In Gauteng province, districts are structured in a manner that allows for effective policy implementation with synergy between curriculum delivery services and the institutional development and support sub-directorate. Sub-directorates work together to ensure that the districts are smoothly run and the education policies sent by the provincial and national departments of education are implemented. In Gauteng the district offices are more like mediators between the schools and the provincial DoE. “Districts have a range of bodies responsible for the smooth implementation of education policies, and these ensure liaison between the province and the district” (Diko et al, 2010: 14). As in the Western Cape, there are assessment committees at all levels except for Gauteng where there is another assessment tier (the cluster assessment team) between the school and the district (the cluster assessment team). This is composed of elected cluster leaders who assist district officials to manage their function of supporting schools. Cluster leaders assist teachers with assessment issues and moderation of learner portfolios (ibid, 2010). The management team at district level is called Executive District Management Team (EDMT). This team is responsible for the overall strategic vision and policy management in the district.
The national guidelines on the organization, roles and responsibilities of the district offices in SA give description of how district offices should be organized. However, it
41 does not give an in-depth description of how each section should perform its function. In the Western Cape for instance, there are eight district offices which are divided into 49 circuits. The circuits are responsible for strong professional support via the circuit teams. District offices are responsible for education management and the head office is responsible for research, policy formulation, strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation (DoE, 2012). The organisational structure of education district differs from province to province.
2.6.1 Organisation of Education District Offices in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
Below is a diagram that depicts how the organisational structure at district level in the Eastern Cape is organised. It also shows where IQMS Coordinators, EDOs and Subject Advisors are located and where their functions are administered.
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Figure 2.1: District office structure (Professional services)(DoE, 2006)
In the Eastern Cape, district offices are complex institutions of the DoE in that they comprise of different sub-directorates which deal with cooperate services (administration, human resources management, assets and finances) and professional services (DoE, 2008). The professional support service includes the Institutional Development Support and Governance (IDSandG), Curriculum and Education Social Support Services (ESSS). Within IDSandG there are Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) and Institutional Support and Development or EDO coordination sections. This study focused on the professional support services, particularly IQMS, Curriculum and EDO coordination. In the district organisational structure IQMS
CORPORATE SERVICES